Lufthansa grounds long-haul flights as strike drags on

More than 100,000 Lufthansa passengers are facing disruption as a strike by pilots dragged on for a third day.

The German airline cancelled about 830 flights on Friday, with long-haul journeys facing disruption over the weekend as the dispute intensifies.

Lufthansa has cancelled more than 2,600 flights since pilots first went on strike on Wednesday.

The pilots' union said 88 long-haul flights leaving Germany on Saturday would be hit.

Short and medium-haul flights suffered the worst disruption on Friday, upsetting travel plans for more than 315,000 passengers.

Passengers have been advised to check if their flight is operating on LH.com, while the airline is notifying passengers of cancellations by text or email.

Lufthansa has urged the pilots' union to enter mediation, but officials have first demanded a better offer from its management.

Joerg Handwerg, of the Vereinigung Cockpit union, said: "We will have to keep striking as there is no basis for negotiations or arbitration with Lufthansa at the moment."

The airline has agreed deals with the main unions representing ground staff and cabin crew in Germany.

The pilots' union wants an average annual pay rise of 3.7% for its 5,400 members in Germany, backdated to 2012. Lufthansa has offered 2.5% over six years to 2019.

Carsten Spohr, chief executive of Lufthansa, has claimed that the future of the airline would be threatened if it met the pilots' demands.

Despite a record profit last year, the company said it was forced to slash costs to compete with budget rivals such as Ryanair in Europe and the likes of Emirates on long-haul routes.

Lufthansa estimates that the strike - the 14th time pilots have walked out since early 2014 - is costing about €10m a day.

Board member Harry Hohmeister said on Thursday the action was affecting mid-term bookings.

Other airlines owned by Lufthansa, including Germanwings, Austrian Airlines and Swiss, are not affected by the strike.

Virgin threat

Lufthansa shares were down 0.2% at €12.57 in Frankfurt on Friday afternoon and are down 14% this year.

The company carried 107.7m passengers last year, up 1.6% from 2014. Ryanair's total rose 17% to 101.4m.

Separately, Virgin Altantic could be hit by industrial action over Christmas following a decision by the Professional Pilots Union to ballot its members.

The vote, which follows the collapse of union recognition talks, will close on 16 December. Action could potentially start on 23 December - one of the busiest days of the year for air travel - and continue throughout the festive season.

The union said any action would be "short of a strike" and involve "withdrawal of pilot goodwill", such as agreeing to work overtime.

That would still affect a "significant number" of flights, according to the union.